Android to get $100 million startup fund

An investment firm in Silicon Valley has announced the creation of a $100 million dollar start up fund for Android territory. The firm, DCM, has identified Android as the hottest thing in the tech world right now and has earmarked on average between $500,000 and $4 million in products that will shape the Android ecosystem from the "A-fund" to help select robot-focused start-ups get up and running. The firm stated that Android's rapid rise around the world, particularly in Asia, was what prompted creation of the fund that they hope will enable developers capitalize on it. DCM believes that Android will continue to dominate in Japan, China and Taiwan and that's where a lot of the money is focused. DCM has offices in both Tokyo and Beijing.

“Android is one of the fastest growing technology platforms in the world in terms of both adoption and application deployment,” DCM’s press announcement states. “In the last 12 months, the number of Android enabled devices has grown 861 percent...”

Major funding for the A-Fund is coming from Asian mobile and social innovation firms like GREE, KDDI and Tencent. DCM believes that with Android's rapid rise in the US, which many report as having come to dominate the mobile market over Apple's iOS, and that it will continue worldwide. With such a rare and massive opportunity, DCM founder David Chao says the goal is to strike while the iron is hot. He believes that this is "an opportunity that comes only once in a major tech cycle.”

The move stands to compete with venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, who established the iFund in 2008 with $100 million earmarked for iPhone development and which was doubled last year. Companies vying include software application companies like Zynga, plus several mobile social networking firms. Already, the A Fund has invested in four companies which they will announce next month.